Human Reservoirs

I'll try to keep this quick, as I just want to make some notes, but don't really have the energy to pen an entire article. Though, saying that, it takes real effort to be concise and lazy writing tends to wander.

(Oh no, I've already wrote a paragraph and still haven't said anything.)

Focus.

Unemployment - Three Points

The First.

We need to start accepting it as a reality - a natural part of the economy - not a cancer upon it. In the modern world there will always be a wedge of unemployed people. It may be bigger, it may be smaller, but it'll always be there. Its existence isn't the consequence of some moral failing on the part of government or society at large. It's a feature of modern economies, not a bug. And it doesn't care about your moral or political arguments, be they from the left or the right. Yes, these things will affect the size of the wedge, but they will not remove it. The wedge doesn't exist because people on the other side of the aisle have done "bad things" to bring it about.

(It's similar with our empty highstreets. The simple reality is we don't need as much shop space anymore. It's a consequence of technological change. It's not someone's fault. Town centres aren't half empty because someone did something immoral. It's just the way it is now. Accept it. Knock one third of the high street down and plant some pretty flowers or something.)

So, anyway, we need to view that unemployed wedge as a resource; a blessing. A reservoir of untapped potential. Something there if we need it. Not, "Oh my God, what a curse it is to have all these feckless people milling about."

Point Two.

If we're going to lower immigration we need to pre-emptively make it clear to employers that there'll be a dividend to tapping this natural reservoir. For the last 30 years companies have grown dependent on immigration, so haven't needed to train, entice and retain native reservoir workers.

"Look, there are people there, you just have to go and get them."

Yes, it's a bit harder, but it'll be harder still when the tap of immigration is turned off and your company hasn't adapted to this.

Point Three.

This is slightly more abstract, but it needs to be added to the conversation.

Imagine two situations.

Sit. 1

There are two 23 year olds. One works 40 hours a week, the other is unemployed. The employed one has self-confidence and self-worth. However, as they have little spare time they don't take part in other aspects of society: local politics, charity and community work, etc. Whereas the unemployed person has the time, but they're so demoralised and lacking a sense of purpose they don't use it. "How can I help others when I can't even help myself?" they think.

I don't really need to illustrate the second situation. Obviously, what I'm getting at here is that if they both worked 20 hours instead, you'd have two much more productive people. As each would have the self-confidence and spare time to contribute to wider society in other ways, on top of the combined 40 hours of work.

Yes, this is idealistic. People generally work 40 hours a week because they need the money. Plus, you'd have to train both people to do the job, etc, etc, etc. There are countless practical holes. Still, if people are genuinely concerned about living in a society where half the people work to support the other half, we need to start envisioning something different. Even if we just make baby steps towards such ideas.

We need to start looking for the upside. The opportunities that are presenting themselves. A glass half full view of what's on the horizon. We can't go into this viewing vast swathes of humans as valueless. There really is the potential for a better world somewhere in this. A better quality of life. We just need to orientate ourselves better.

I really am meandering now. These definitely aren't bullet points. I'm lost in grey clouds, but at least reaching for the light.

[This is what chatgpt came up with when I asked it to turn the post into an image. It looks fittingly communist lol.]